Two souls
by Darkrace
Summary: On the night of the Kyuubi attack, a pair of twins were born to Kushina Uzumaki. Minato sealed one half of the fox's chakra inside the girl and the other half inside the boy, seconds before both he and his wife are killed, trying to protect their children, who are left to be brought up as orphans. This is their story. Somewhat OOC Naruto. idea might be overused, but still try it.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

It was a beautiful autumn morning in Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The sun was shining in the high heavens, the grass was green and the tree leaves danced in the breeze as the people of the village, civilians and shinobi alike, went about, setting up tents and stalls for the festivities in the evening. For today was the day that, 12 years ago, the nine-tailed demon fox attacked the village. And was defeated by the Fourth Hokage, who sealed it away at the cost of his own life.

And so, today was a day of festivities in the village. Ceremonies were held to commemorate the departed leader, and the people who fell fighting the demon. Stalls of food were set up, the entire village was decorated, plays were staged and people drank themselves into the next morning. In short, everyone was made welcome, from the poorest villagers to the richest merchants, along with all that may have come to the village on the day.

Well, almost everyone.

In the woods surrounding one of the less-frequented training grounds in the remoter corners of the village, a red-headed, blue-eyed girl peeked out from behind the shelter of a particularly thick tree. She was panting heavily, as though she had been running hard. Finding no one around, she sighed in relief, and sat down on the ground at the base of the tree. As her breathing slowed down, she wiped away the tears rolling down her cheeks and started to think. Her brother had still been in the apartment. She only hoped that the stone-throwing drunks that chased after her as soon as she came out had forgotten completely about her brother and had not gone back to try and kill the other "Demon Twin", as the villagers called them.

She had no idea why the villagers hated them so much, nor why they called them things like "Demon" and "Murderer". She was no murderer, and if she were a demon, she would have not taken their insults and their cold glares lying down. She would have-

At this point, the girl gave a start and forcefully squashed the half-formed thoughts of vengeance. Deciding to do something to take her mind off of them, she got up and started to move deeper into the woods. There was an old tree here with a large hollow in it, where two children could easily hide. Her brother had discovered it when they were five years old. It was here they had spent the winter of their fifth years, after they had been thrown out of the orphanage. That was until one of those mask-wearing shinobi came and took them to the office of the kindly old man that had visited them sometimes. This was when they learned that the old man was the Hokage, the village leader. He gave them the keys to an apartment and a monthly allowance. But still whenever either of them needed to escape, they came here, most of the time. It was a secret meeting-place for them. And it was mostly needed on this day. For some reason, the day of the Kyuubi's defeat, which was, coincidentally, their birthday too, the villagers' animosity reached new heights. This meant that the worst incidents also occurred on this day. The incident three years ago, when a couple of drunk ninjas caught them outside their apartment as they were returning at night, still made her shiver when she remembered it. Though frankly, she had lost enough blood that she was barely holding onto consciousness by the time the one that had pulled her into the dark alley in the middle of the beating started to tear off her clothes. When she saw a masked ninja push his sword through her molester's throat, she allowed herself to fall unconscious.

She woke up three days later, with the Hokage sitting by her bedside. He told her that her brother was safe as well and that their attackers had been executed. That did not give her much peace of mind. There were others, and she was afraid that the death of the two would only goad the others into more drastic ways to get "revenge". Thankfully, that had not happened. But she always lived in fear that another attempt is just around the corner.

The girl stood up and dusted her dress. She was confident Naruto would be able to shake off their pursuers if someone tried to ambush him on his way here. Hell, he was used to playing pranks on the village and running away, or hiding from the ninjas the Hokage sent to catch him. Thinking about the time he "decorated" the Hokage Monument still made her giggle. As usual, it was Iruka-sensei who caught him and hauled him back to class. Still, it had been quite sometime now, and she was beginning to get worried. It won't be safe to go back now, but-

She sat down again and began to gnaw on a strand of her hair. She could stay there and wait for Naruto, but every passing minute made her that much more anxious. And the old fears, that had lain dormant for the past couple of years, began to gnaw at her again. Oh, she could go back and look for him. But the thought of what would happen if she was caught held her back. She was nowhere near as confident of her stealth skills as her brother. "Well," she thought bitterly, "having only an orange jumpsuit to wear has its perks, I suppose." Frankly, she had no idea how someone could hide from elite ninjas while wearing something that vividly orange.

The girl looked at the sky and stood up, her mouth set in a grim line. It has been almost four hours since she had gotten here, and no sign of Naruto. She was going to go back and look and if someone caught her, well then-

"Aiko-chan!"

The girl started and looked up. And for the first time since she came to the training ground, broke into a smile.

"So you got away alright, brother."

Naruto smiled back as he jumped down from the branch he had been standing on. Not one of his huge, fake, everything-is-all-right grins, but a real smile of happiness.

"Yeah. Went out the back door, then ran as fast as I could." Naruto grinned even wider. "It is gonna be a long time before they can catch up with Naruto Uzumaki!"

Aiko giggled at her brother's exuberance and replied, "Well, what took you so long, then?"

"Eh," Naruto scratched the back of his head," I was trying to think of a prank for them to remember us while we stay out of their sight."

Aiko growled. He was trying to think of a prank on the village on the anniversary of the Kyuubi attack? The one day on which the villagers were least likely to show them any leniency? What was he thinking?

Naruto had, in the meanwhile, taken a couple of steps backwards and brought up his hands in front of him.

"I didn't do anything, Aiko-chan, I swear."

"Brother, if the fools who live in this village catch you, do you think they are going to listen to your excuses?"

"Well, they really deserved to be pranked. It's our birthday too, sister. We should have some fun today, no matter what others believe."

Aiko looked at the ground. It had always been like this for them. The Old Man Hokage had told them their parents had been killed in the Kyuubi attack. Which left her to wonder, did they not have any other family, anywhere? Maybe they had no grandparents, but to have no other relations at all?

Aiko had often dreamed, when she was younger, that one day, they would wake up, and somebody would have come to take care of them. Maybe even take them away from this horrible village. She and Naruto would sit together for hours and think up elaborate stories, where they were children of a very rich and honorable family, and had to be hidden away to protect them from enemies. In the world of make-believe, they could lose themselves, and cast off the burden of loneliness and rejection that was their one constant companion. When the children at the playground ran away every time she tried to play with them, and their parents threw stones at her, she used to console herself, believing that the day they knew the truth, they would come begging her for forgiveness. And as the years went by, and that day never came, as the burden of the villagers' hatred grew ever larger, Aiko threw away those dreams, and withdrew into herself. Whereas her brother tried to hide his pain under a mask of cheerfulness and exuberance, she chose a mask of coldness and indifference. As time passed, Naruto made friends, of a sort. Of course, this was pretty difficult in itself, seeing as most parents were only too eager to keep the "Demon Twins" away from their children. But still, he could go play with them, and share food and talk with them. Even if most of them did it to have a convenient target for ridicule in their group. She, on the other hand, preferred to stay by herself. At first, she too had tried to become friends with her classmates. Now, she stayed away. She had enough reminders of how cruel society can be to someone it had decided to make an outcast. She did not need anymore in the form of her peers. But the pain of rejection always hurt most on days of festivities like this. Sometimes, they would risk sneaking back into town early, when the festivities would be on in full swing. They would hide somewhere and watch the kids running around, playing with their friends, siblings, parents. That was as close as they ever came to taking part in any of the festivities. And on their birthdays…..

She was broken out of her melancholy musings by Naruto's voice. This time, though, he was uncharacteristically serious.

"You know, Aiko, I have been thinking about it again." Aiko sighed. "It," in their conversations, signified whatever undefined problem the villagers had that caused them to look at the two of them like something right out of the lowest levels of hell. Neither of them had any clear idea what "it" was. Naruto had a vague theory about "it", but Aiko, for the life of her, could not figure out what connection there might be between the giant nine-tailed demon fox that attacked Konoha all those years ago, and two children orphaned in the same night and inexplicably hated by more or less the entire village. The only connection that she could think of was that, somehow, the whisker-like birthmarks that she and her brother shared, reminded them of the fox. But it was a bit difficult to believe that he villagers hated them for that reason alone, so she discarded the theory. Her theory was that, maybe their parents had done something wrong, something shameful that caused the villagers to hate them. But not only did she not want to believe in this particular theory, Hokage-ojisan had vehemently denied it when she put it to him during one of his rare visits, a few years ago. He had told them that their parents were, in fact, great shinobi who were liked by all the people that knew them, and that they would have been proud of their son and daughter if they were still alive, and had as always, refused to tell them who their parents were.

That one refusal maddened Aiko more than any insult or abuse the villagers could have thrown at her. And yet, the old man stubbornly refused to tell them their parents' identity, saying that it had been their request that their identities were not to be revealed until their children had managed to gain the rank of a chuunin at least. Well, if that was it, she had to try and become a chuunin as fast as possible. And the first step is to pass the genin exams the day after tomorrow.

"Aiko?"

"Hm?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just, the exams are the day after tomorrow, and I am a bit nervous, that is all."

"Don't worry, sister. If anyone is going to pass, you are."

""Thanks," Aiko smiled at her brother." And so are you."

Naruto looked away. "Not if they again ask me for the academy three."

"Come on, Naruto. Even you can't have that kind of bad luck every year. They are hardly going to ask the same question three years in a row."

"I don't know, sister. And you don't have any trouble with the clone technique, do you?"

"No." Aiko looked down for a moment." And I have no idea why, Naruto. I mean, I can't control the amount of clones I produce, but other than that, I don't have any problems."

"Yeah. Your clones look healthy enough, not like they are about to pass out and die. "

"It's an illusionary technique, a genjutsu. Maybe genjutsus are supposed to be easier for girls?"

CRACK.

Naruto had stood up and driven a fist into the tree, splintering the bark. His knuckles were bleeding, but he paid no attention to them.

"Then why can every other guy in the class do it, except me?"

Aiko stared at her brother. Naruto rarely lost his temper. Aiko couldn't even remember the last time she had seen her brother this angry. After a moment, she stood up, too.

"Naruto, your hand."

Naruto looked down at his hand. The bleeding was already slowing down, but the hand looked like it would take time to heal. A tearing sound made him look up again. Aiko was ripping off another portion from the hem of her tattered, repeatedly patched up skirt. She took Naruto's hand in hers and started to tie a makeshift bandage. Naruto sighed. He hadn't meant to lose his temper, and now he felt like a fool. It was not Aiko's fault that he could not perform the stupid technique.

"Aiko, I am sorry."

Aiko gave him a small smile." Don't be. I know how you feel." She finished tying the bandage and stood up. The sun was going down. "Come on, brother. A couple more hours and we can sneak back to the village. Then we can go look for something to eat."

Naruto smiled back. "Till then, I am going to lie here and think about the next big prank."

Aiko giggled. "Tell me about it. I can help."

"Really? All right. This is going to be awesome."

And as the shadows of the evening lengthened around them, the pair of outcast children planned and laughed and managed to forget, if only for the moment, the harsh glares and poisonous whispers that would come at them as soon as they went back home.

**Author's note:- Well, there goes the first chapter of my first fanfic. Please, read and review, and if you like it enough to see it continue, say so(reviews, PM, anything). Also, if you do want a second chapter, should it be about the Naruto-Mizuki encounter?(that part is going to be the same as in manga.) Or should I stick to my original plan, and skip straight to the team selection? Again, please let me know. **

**P.S:- All kinds of reviews are welcome, and constructive criticisms especially so. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:- This second chapter should not have taken so long to post, but my end-semester exams got in the way. Any way, a lot of thanks to the four people who reviewed, and to the ideas they gave me. Please, enjoy the second chapter.**

**Disclaimer:- Before I forget, know that nothing here belongs to me, except that which does not already belong to Masashi Kishimoto. That belongs to me. **

CHAPTER 2

Aiko was feeling ecstatic. It was the day of the genin exams, and she had passed! For the first time in a long time, she was feeling like jumping with joy. Coming out of the exam room, she caught her brother's eye. Naruto smiled and gave her a thumbs-up, a gesture she returned happily, then turned away and skipped out of the classroom. That is, as close to skipping as she could get while still maintaining her ice queen image. Walking through the corridors, her headband proudly tied around her forehead, she felt a strange exhilaration. Free! Free! She was finally free of the dull, dreary academy, a place of which she harbored no good memories. From tomorrow, she would get assigned to a genin team, and (her heart felt lighter at the thought) for the first time, she would have a chance to make friends. At least, her teammates would have to maintain a working relationship with her, if they were to get anywhere. Though she would really prefer if Naruto could be put on the same team with her. Perhaps she should go and ask the Old Man about it? Surely it should be within his power to grant this one wish?

Aiko's musings were cut short when she suddenly walked into the sunlight, out of the academy building. The grounds were crowded today. Parents stood around in clumps, talking, waiting for their children to come out of the exam hall. The children who had already passed were being greeted lovingly by their family. Aiko glanced at them, and, for a second her heart became heavy. Then she firmly pushed away those thoughts. Pushed away the mutterings of "Damned Demon," and "Why the hell was It allowed to pass," too, though that was significantly more difficult. This was a special day for her. With any luck, it would be a special day for her brother, too, the day they took their first step on the road to fulfill their dreams. She wasn't going to let a few idiots ruin it. So she turned away and passed through the gates of the academy, out onto the deserted road beyond.

Where to now?

After some thought, she decided that it would be best to drop by the apartment and hide her headband somewhere safe. There was no point in letting it get damaged even before her first mission. There would be enough time for her to get back before her brother's exam was over. Then they could go out together to Ichiraku's.

And she dashed off down the street.

Later, when Aiko looked back on the day, she always said that she ought to have realized by then that nothing in her life was going to come easy.

Things started to go wrong even before she could get home. The apartment she and her brother shared was in the seedier part of the town and she always felt on edge, even in the middle of the day. It had saved her life many times before.

It saved her life again now. Alert as she was, she jumped instinctively when she heard the tell-tale 'whoosh' of the giant tsuriken behind her. The tsuriken passed through the space she had occupied a moment ago and embedded itself on the wall opposite. Aiko quickly moved to put her back to a wall, and looked around frantically, trying to get a glimpse of her attacker.

"Not too bad, Demon. You might even make a decent ninja with training."

There. Up on the roof of the derelict building across the street. And another one, standing at the mouth of the alley. So far as she could tell, there were only the two of them. Aiko clenched and unclenched her fists. Terror was threatening to overwhelm rational thinking, unwanted memories of previous such attacks assailing her, but she had to keep it down. She could not allow fear to cripple her now.

"Of course, that is all the more reason to finish you off now."

Aiko looked up at the face of the ninja on the roof. It would not have been particularly remarkable, just a normal, everyday sort of face. Now, though, it was terrifyingly twisted by hatred. If that is human, wonder what a demon looks like, Aiko thought. Aloud, more bravely than she felt, she said, "What do you want with me?"

The ninja on the roof jumped down, a mocking sneer on his face.

"For starters, I think I would like to hear you scream."

Aiko looked around desperately for an escape route. None presented itself. She looked back at her assailants. The one in front put his hand into a pocket on his armored vest in a leisurely fashion, as if he had all the time in the world. Aiko stiffened, readying herself to dodge. Then the ninja's hand was coming out of the pocket and metal flashed in the sunlight as kunai hurtled towards her. Aiko jumped to her right, rolled twice and stood up. And then screamed as burning pain shot through her left side. The ninja In front of her laughed harshly. Blinking away the tears, she looked down. Several kunai had become embedded in her leg and all along her torso. They seemed to have been poisoned as well, for the skin around the wounds was already going grey. Blood trickled down her entire left side. Trying not to black out form the pain, Aiko looked back up at her attackers. Both of them were now closing in on her. Unbidden, unwanted memories rose to her mind once again.

She was three years old, lying on the ground, held by a couple of villagers while another one was raising a stone to bash her head in.

She was five, and somebody held her hands behind her back, while a mob took it in turns to hack at the bloody mess on the ground that was her brother.

She was eight, and crying in pain, while behind her a man laughed sadistically as he made another cut down her back.

All those other times, she and her brother had been rescued. This time, no was coming. This time, she was alone. And she was going to die.

Something inside her broke at that, and she screamed. She never saw her attackers pause, their expressions changing to surprise, and then to terror. She never saw the malicious red chakra that came seeping out of her, like her own blood given sentience. And neither did she see her would-be attackers collapse like rag dolls, blank eyes staring and hands raised to fend off some unknown horror that nobody could see.

Ayame Ichiraku found her almost half an hour later, sitting against the wall, her throat raw and bleeding. She herself had been a ninja once; had even become a chuunin; yet what she saw when she came to investigate, drawn there by Aiko's screams, made her throw up. Then, once she had gotten herself under control, she started to try and calm down the hysterical younger girl.

Naruto was sitting dejectedly in his favorite swing at the academy playground. He had failed, months of hard work undone yet again by his continuing inability to produce something as simple and transient as a proper illusionary copy of himself. Ordinarily, he would have poured out his grief by numbing it in training, or pouring it out to a sympathetic ear (mostly his sister's).today, however, he was not feeling up to doing anything of the sort. He couldn't even be bothered to keep up his ever present mask of cheerfulness and gaiety. Today, he felt completely worthless, unsure of himself.

Snatches of conversations came to his ear as he sat there. Parents congratulating their kids, a couple of the instructors talking about the new batch, and so on. Nobody even looked at the kid sitting alone on the broken swing, staring at his own feet. Except for the ones who stopped to throw out snide comments, about how good it was that he had not been allowed to pass. Somehow, the comments, although apparently for the benefit of one's neighbors, always seemed to be clearly audible to the boy. Naruto, however, gave no visible reaction. He continued to sit as he had been sitting, as the crowd slowly thinned out. His thoughts turned towards his sister. Aiko. She had passed alright. He wondered what would happen now. Would the funds they got from the Hokage's Office for War Orphans be stopped? If that happened, could Aiko support them both on her earnings alone? And throughout all his worries about the future and possible state of their finances, jealousy kept rearing its ugly head; no matter how much he tried to keep them away. It felt like a betrayal on his sister's part. And though Naruto knew in his heart that the betrayal was truly on his part, for thinking as he was, yet he could not help the resentment that coursed through him.

So engrossed was he in his own thoughts that it took Mizuki several tries before Naruto started and looked up.

"Sorry, sensei. I was thinking of other stuff."

Mizuki, unlike most of his other sensei-s, did not seem irritated in the least.

"That's alright Naruto. I understand how you must be feeling."

Naruto wanted to shout that no, Mizuki sensei could not have any idea in hell about how he felt. It was not sensei who had to endure the stares and whispers all day long, wherever he went. It was not sensei who was denied service by every shop in the market, or was deliberately sold overpriced, spoiled goods. It was not sensei who had to hunt around in scrap metal heaps for broken kunais or tsurikens that could be repaired or in the garbage dumps for clothes to wear. It was not his sensei's sister who would be going on to become a ninja, while he is held back at the academy for no one knew how many more years. Instead, he swallowed it all and went back to staring at his toes. Mizuki, apparently quite content to wait and let Naruto speak, sat down beside him.

After sometime, Naruto broke the silence.

"How would it have hurt Iruka sensei to just allow one student to pass? It is only that stupid bunshin technique. It won't even be all that useful on the battlefield. Not the like the other two. And I can do those perfectly."

Mizuki smiled at the boy.

"Don't judge Iruka too harshly, Naruto. He loves you, like all his students, and only wants the best form you. Maybe you will be able to do even better next time. "

Naruto said nothing.

"Although," Mizuki went on," if you really want to pass this year, there is another way."

Naruto's head came up.

"Really?"

His voice was cautious, guarded, as though he didn't want to believe what he was hearing.

"Yes. Of course, you wouldn't have heard of it. It's something of a secret. But there is a special test for kids."

"Special? Like, you mean the ones who fail for three years straight?"

"No, no. That's not how I meant it. It's the Hokage who selects the students who will be allowed to take this test. Even I don't know what criterion he uses."

Naruto didn't say anything. He stared at Mizuki, as though trying to gauge whether or not he was toying with him. Mizuki stared back at Naruto just as impassively. Finally, Naruto said, "What would I have to do?"

Mizuki smiled genially at Naruto and leaned back against the tree behind him. "The test is very difficult," he warned," far more difficult than the normal test."

"What would I have to do?"

"To put it simply, there is a large scroll in the Hokage's office. It contains a list of the techniques that are known to the shinobi of our village. Obviously, it is kept under pretty heavy guard. For today, however, the guard will be lessened. All you have to do is steal that scroll; then learn one technique of your choice from it."

Naruto stared at him for some time. Then a slow grin made its way onto his lips. He said' "That's it?"

Mizuki grinned back," I see you are interested. Very well then, if you are going to take the test," here he paused and looked up at the setting sun," you time starts now. Meet me in the woods behind training ground 14 in five hours."

Naruto stood up, suddenly feeling lighter. He had another chance to pass the test. And, no matter what sensei said, it did not sound all that difficult. After all, he had had lots of experience stealing things. And if he passed, he could become a ninja too, without having to worry about that stupid clone technique. He smiled. The jealousy that had been incessantly pricking him like thorns ever since Iruka sensei told him he had failed was gone. Then he started. His sister. While he had not had time to think about it when he was having his sulking fit, if he disappeared for the next 5 hours, Aiko would be worrying herself crazy. Come to think of it, why wasn't she here? She had promised him that he would be waiting until his exams were over, and it was not like Aiko to break her own promises. Worried now, Naruto turned towards Mizuki.

"Sensei, my sister, she…."

"You want her told where you have gone, is that it?"

Naruto nodded, "and she said that she would be here, and she isn't."

Mizuki frowned thoughtfully for a moment, before he said," Concentrate on your test, Naruto. I will see about finding your sister and telling her."

Naruto smiled. "Alright sensei." And he jumped off.

Mizuki sat looking after him for some time, before he smiled once again. He had no idea what the hell happened to the other demon. Personally, he was hoping someone had bumped her off too.

"Well," he said to himself," the first part of the plan went smoothly. Now to wait."

Aiko woke up in a soft bed. She did not recognize the bed, or the room itself. That might have been cause for panic, but seeing as how the last time she fell unconscious, she had been in the presence of the Hokage, and Ayame nee-chan had been with her, she felt quite safe for the moment. Instead she closed her eyes, placed her head back in her hands, and tried to make the splitting headache she was beginning to develop go away. Her throat still felt raw, though oddly, the wounds that the poisoned kunai had made in her side were all gone, and a dull throbbing ache was all that was left of the terrible pain that had coursed through her. Aiko winced. She had completely lost it, faced with only two enemies. She didn't really feel like imagining something like that happening during a mission. At least in this case, it had done some good. Somehow (and she had no idea how) her enemies were dead, without any outside help. Apparently, this is my first kill, she thought. All she felt, though, was a kind of vindictive joy. Well, she thought ruefully, the counselor did tell me I would find killing easy, though I have no idea why. As long as it doesn't turn out to be some kind of mental illness, I suppose it's alright. The life of a ninja does revolve around killing after all.

Aiko lifted her head and looked around the room. That solved the mystery of the owner of the room at once, because unless she had ended up in the house of Ayame-nee-chan's secret stalkers, there was no reason for there being so many photos of her and Teuchi-san's on the bedside table and the walls. Now if only she could have a glass of water.

At that moment, the door opened and Ayame Ichiraku came in, and seeing her awake, smiled. She looked a bit tired, Aiko decided. Wondering whether it would be too impolite to ask for a glass of water, Aiko was startled when a hand holding the very item she wanted came into her field of view. Aiko accepted it thankfully.

"Arigatou, Ayame-nee."

Ayame smiled. "Thought you might be thirsty. Sedatives always made me feel parched."

"Eh? How would you know?"

Ayame's eyes sparkled. "I used to be a ninja too, don't you know?"

"Eh?!"

"Yep. Went up to chuunin, too."

Aiko was stunned. The kind, gentle Ayame Ichiraku used to be a ninja? The idea seemed to bizarre to consider.

Ayame, however became serious. "Putting that aside, Aiko, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Aiko answered automatically. Then seeing the disbelieving look on Ayame's face, she hastily added, "Really, I am fine. You don't have to worry about me."

Ayame didn't look like she believed this reassurance either, but she seemed to decide not to press the issue for now. Instead, she smiled and said, "All right then. You will be staying the night at our place. Dad's cooking up a right royal ramen feast for you and your brother. The Hokage has guards posted all around our house, so you needn't worry about an attack either. "

Aiko smiled gratefully. Then she remembered her brother and became somber. Ayame, noticing her mood change, gently put an arm around her shoulders. Aiko snuggled closer to her. Ayame said, "Worried about Naruto?"

Aiko nodded mutely. Ayame started to run her fingers through her hair. "Don't worry. Hokage-sama himself said that he was going to find as much manpower as he can spare to look for him. He will be alright. And anyway, where can he have gone? He must have gone to one of his favorite spots to get over the disappointment."

Aiko sighed. "It's not just that. It's just, I wished he had passed too. Every year, he tries so hard, and fails because of that one technique, it's heartbreaking. And the way teachers look at him in class! Like he is expected to fail. Why do they hate us so much anyway? It's not like we have done anything to harm them. Yet they look at us with those cold eyes, like our existence is somehow offensive to them."

Ayame looked down. She had no idea how to answer her question. How do you tell a child that the reason almost the entire village hated her, the reason she didn't have any friends, is because the day she was born, a giant sentient mass of chakra and malice had been sealed inside her, and said villagers were stupid and had no idea how to distinguish between a prison and the prisoner? Fortunately for her, Aiko didn't pursue that line of enquiry, and instead curled up and lay down.

At that time, there was a knock on the front door. Ayame went out to answer it. Aiko could hear faint snatches of conversation from her room. "No… Not here …Yes," and then, a loud exclamation from Ayame," WHAT?" that made her sit up. When Ayame entered the room, she was frightened at the expression on her face. She thought it must be some bad news about Naruto. She jumped down off the bed.

"What is it, nee-chan? Is Naruto alright?"

Ayame took her by the hand and pulled her over to the bed, before sitting down herself. "That was Iruka. He was searching for Naruto. Naruto is alright, so far."

Aiko was now really frightened. "What do you mean, so far?"

Ayame took a deep breath. "Naruto… He stole the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage's office. The entire force of jounins and chuunins is searching for him. I f he is not found within the village boundaries, he will be declared a missing-nin."

Aiko sat stunned. She wanted to speak, to shout that this was not possible, that her brother would never do anything to deliberately harm the village, but her voice did not seem to respond. Somehow, she managed to choke out, "But Naruto, he would never…"

Ayame pulled her into a tight hug. Thick tears splashed down her face. "I know, Aiko. I know, but nobody else is going to believe it."

"What do we do now", Aiko whispered.

"Nothing, for now. Neither of us are ninjas, and civilians are not, obviously, supposed to know about this. Iruka promised to come tell me as soon as Naruto is found. Then we have to go to the Hokage's office at once. He will understand. If Naruto really did this, somebody else must have incited him. Somebody he trusts. He is the one we have to find and punished." Ayame wiped away her tears. "Until then, Aiko, try to get some rest. Whatever happens now, you are going to need all you strength."

And they did rest, though sleep would come to neither of them, and they spent the long night trying to comfort each other. It was not until the dawn, when Aiko had cried herself to sleep, that the messenger they had been waiting for all night long came to the door, to tell them that the Hokage had summoned them. 

**Author's note:- so that's it for now. When I update again( hopefully within the month), I will merge this first and second chapters into a single chapter, like they originally should have been. Anyway, how did you like this chapter? What needs improvement? Whatever you feel, please leave a review and let me know. Until next time, sayonara.**


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